The most sweeping European medical device regulations in decades are slated to go into effect in 2020, leaving many manufacturers wondering what they need to do to get up to speed. Two years may sound like a lot of time to comply, but given the number of changes coming, waiting may not be an option.

We talked to Tony Parise, Life Sciences Product Strategist for EtQ, about what the new requirements mean for medical device manufacturers.

Going into effect May 25, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) represents the most sweeping changes to EU data privacy laws in 20 years. However, signs are growing that companies are ready for the new requirements, including a new UK report showing fewer than half of organizations have made preparations.

Companies that sell products or services to people in the EU will need to comply with the new regulations or risk a fine of up to 4% of revenue or €20 million, whichever is greater.

In today’s post, we’re examining what companies need to do to get in compliance with the fast-approaching regulatory deadlines.

If your organization is one of the more than 59,000 certified to ISO 13485, you should already be planning for your transition to the newest version of the standard. As of February 28, 2019, all ISO 13485:2003 certificates will expire, with the Medical Device Single Audit Program (MDSAP) requiring manufacturers to transition to the latest standard by January 1, 2019.

ISO 13485 is based on the popular ISO 9001 for quality management systems, although key structural differences make it a standalone standard. In this post, we’re looking at what the changes are in ISO 13485:2016, and what companies can do to streamline the transition process.

Audits are an essential part of the Life Sciences as they ensure manufacturers are producing safe products and operating within compliance.

Previously, audits meant surprise business interruptions for manufacturers and a lot of travel and administrative work for auditors. With many Life Science manufacturers operating internationally, they were being audited separately to satisfy the requirements of each country in which they operated. At the end of the day, there was a lot of repeat work on both ends.

So regulatory agencies and legislators have come together to develop single audit programs that create comprehensive audits that satisfy the requirements of multiple countries. This creates a globally harmonized and efficient international audit management system.

One of the major programs is the Medical Device Single Audit Program (MDSAP). As the deadlines for these changes approaches quickly, here are 3 things that medical device manufacturers should know about the MDSAP.

You have a solid quality system in place for product design, production and testing. Your medical devices pass all tests with flying colors. You’re off the hook once they leave for distribution, right?

Wrong.

Quality management extends beyond your four walls. If a product has your name associated with it, it’s your responsibility even once it’s in the hands of patients.

Here are four ways to effectively manage postmarket events with automated Quality Management System (QMS) software.

A closer look revealed that root cause analysis and impact assessment are still a challenge for many organizations. These organizations struggle with taking measures to prevent recurrence of adverse events.

A possible explanation for this challenge is that organizations are not leveraging leading and lagging indicators to their advantage when building corrective action management processes.

Learning to understand leading and lagging metrics and how to use them in your organization can be a gamechanger in the Life Sciences.

Incomplete records stuffed in the trash, with the signatures still showing. Blank forms issued complete with signatures. Employees shredding documents without bothering to record why and what they were destroying, even as inspectors were onsite.

These practices may sound outrageous, but the document control horror stories are all right there in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning letters. Even organizations that wouldn’t dream of engaging in such obvious violations could be subject to 483 notices and warning letters if they don’t get document control right.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at 4 document control best practices to help companies avoid FDA warning letters.